By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal is expecting about the same number of cruise ships in 2023 as there were last summer, but an increase in the number of visitors.
“The ships will be fuller, and there will be additional shuttle traffic, but the number of ships will be similar,” terminal manager Chris McGraw said.
McGraw spoke to the Sentinel this week about the 2022 cruise season, changes in the works for his company in 2023, and the forecast for 2024. He said 383,000 cruise passengers came to Sitka in 2022, out of the ship capacity of 450,000.
In 2019, the year before the pandemic shut down cruise ship travel to Alaska, Sitka had 217,000 cruise visitors. McGraw said the cruise companies are expecting vessels running closer to capacity in 2023. If they do, passenger numbers will top 500,000, McGraw said.
“The cruise lines are optimistic; the bookings are going well,” he said.
He isn’t expecting those numbers to change much in 2024. Sitka has limited docking capacity, and he has no plans to expand or add a second dock, he said.
The privately owned terminal’s single deep water dock can accommodate two ships at a time, one on each side.
“I don’t see our numbers increasing significantly, because you only have so much dock space in Sitka,” he said. “From 2019 to 2022 we saw the Norwegian Bliss, which is a 4,000 passenger ship, the Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas and Royal Caribbean Ovation - all three started calling in Sitka, and those are the largest ships in the state and they don’t go anywhere where there’s not a dock. Our docks are pretty much full so you’re not going to see another one of those ships call in Sitka because there’s nowhere to go.”
Other changes are in the works at the cruise terminal and also at the company he co-owns, Adventure Sitka.
He is adding more of the 60-seat shuttle buses to get passengers to town and back faster and more efficiently. He also is adding at least one more tour boat to his company’s tour capacity, and providing an alternative way for passengers to get into town other than buses.
Adventure Sitka offers a kayak tour from the Siginaka Islands north of town, and a Silver Bay tour to the family’s cabin and Fortress of the Bear.
Acknowledging the limited capacity of the bus drop-off area at Harrigan Centennial Hall, McGraw said he’s hoping another site can be identified to ease congestion there.
“I’ve been pushing for an alternative drop-off for the buses,” he said. “Centennial Hall, with the volume coming in and everything that happens at that location, you have to spread (the dropoffs) out near downtown, and you can eliminate all that congestion at that spot.”
Other company changes include the purchase of property across the highway from the cruise terminal, where he plans to convert a building into housing for summertime employees working for Adventure Sitka. The three-bedroom apartments, once finished, should house about 24 people, he said.
The company is also looking at building an indoor or outdoor theater but not in time for the 2023 cruise season.
City Finance Director Melissa Haley said sales tax receipts for the 2022 cruise season were higher than they were in 2019, but factors other than cruise passengers affected the increase.
All things considered, McGraw said, he felt the 2022 season went well.
“I’ll be a lot more prepared for this year,” he said. “Last season, I didn’t know what to expect.”
